Do yourself a favor and step into the enchanting novel that is The Gown. Before we get into the book review, let's clear up a possible misconception: although the title of this book refer to a royal wedding gown, this novel isn't what I would call "royal fiction." The Gown is a behind-the-scenes story that shines a spotlight on the regular ol' folks responsible for creating the grandeur of then-Princess Elizabeth's wedding dress, as well as many...
I'm pretty sure that Party of Two is not author Jasmine Guillory's best work. I know, I know: that's a pretty bold statement to make right off the bat. Guillory’s first book, The Wedding Date, made huge waves when it published a few years ago, but I never got around to reading it. I picked up Party of Two because it was the only Guillory title my library had on hand during COVID quarantine. Given all the fuss surrounding the author and her...
Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe is as wonderful and lovely as its book cover. Please read it. There. DONE! Book review complete. Oh, okay. I suppose I should tell you a little more about why I blazed through this utterly charming novel by Heather Webber.
What's Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe about? Anna Kate Callow unexpectedly inherits her grandmother’s adorable Blackbird Café, on the stipulation that she uproot her life and move to...
I think I want to start a Cookbook Club. I had no idea what one was until I read The Cookbook Club by Beth Harbison, and now I'm obsessed with the idea. And that's completely due to the fact that this women's fiction-meets-foodie-fiction novel is a sheer delight. The Cookbook Club is about three women whose lives intersect when they meet up together for this unique book club group: they pick a cookbook, cook/bake some recipes from it, and...
The Lost Apothecary is one of my favorite books of 2021. BOOM! I’ve said it. This debut novel by Sarah Penner has been making waves across the literary world, and it’s easy to see why: one page, one paragraph into the story, and I was completely sucked in, like a muddy boot into the bottom of the Thames. Penner’s writing is as gorgeous as The Lost Apothecary’s book cover. (Fellow writers: you know the “unicorn author” that we all...
Looking for a beach read that goes a little deeper than your typical rom-com? Enter Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel. This wonderful novel is about friends and family whose lives intertwine when they’re all brought together under (or very near to) one roof over a Connecticut summer when nothing goes as planned—in both good and bad ways. Musical Chairs is about figuring what you’ve been doing, and it’s about figuring out where you want to...
I want you to know that I spent the last 50 pages of The Supreme Macaroni Company bawling my eyes out. We're talking up at 6:30 in the morning, lying in bed reading, flanked by a box of tissues and a wastebasket, and crying so damn hard that my cat came charging down the hall to see what the hell was wrong. (My husband, meanwhile, slept through the whole thing. Bless.) Before those last pages, though? The Supreme Macaroni Company was really,...
In Five Years isn't the book I thought it'd be. In a good way. Everyone seemed to be reading this Rebecca Serle novel last year during quarantine, so I was excited to score a copy from my library as quickly as I did. I'd just read two heavy books back-to-back, and I wanted -- nay, needed -- a fun, breezy women's fiction/romance to lighten up my mood. Well. In Five Years was NOT the book to pick up for that. But, I'm glad I read it anyway. You'll...
OMGILOVEDTHISBOOK. *deep breath* Ahem. Sorry. But, seriously, guys. I absolutely adored Meg and Jo. I’m a huge fan of retellings, particularly ones that modernize classic stories (see Eligible), but this is the first retelling of Little Women that I’ve read. That being said, expectations were high when I started reading – and I’m so happy to report that Virginia Kantra's reimagining completely surpassed everything I could have hoped for....
Tracy Chevalier’s novels are absolutely beautiful, and her latest book, A Single Thread, is no exception, with the added distinction that it might be my new favorite title by this author. A Single Thread reminds you how enjoyable it is to lose yourself in another time period. I savored each and every page of this novel set in 1930s England, which is a time period I don't often encounter. So much historical fiction focuses on WWII, but few...
